NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament


The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of schools in the United States that are generally smaller than the higher-profile institutions grouped in Division I. The tournament, originally known as the NCAA College Division Basketball Championship, was established in 1957, immediately after the NCAA subdivided its member schools into the University Division and College Division. It became the Division II championship in 1974, when the NCAA split the College Division into the limited-scholarship Division II and the non-scholarship Division III, and added the "Men's" designation in 1982 when the NCAA began sponsoring a Division II women's championship.
Like all other NCAA basketball divisions for men and women, the champion is decided in a single-elimination tournament. The Division II tournament normally involves 64 teams. The Division II tournaments for men and women differ in a major respect from those in Divisions I and III. The finals of both Division II tournaments consist of eight teams, instead of the four in the other two divisions. The eight survivors of regional play meet in the Elite Eight at a predetermined site.
Nova Southeastern are the reigning national champions, winning their second national title in 2025.

Qualification

A total of 64 bids are normally available for each tournament: 23 automatic bids and 41 at-large bids. Due to COVID-19 issues, the 2020 tournament was canceled, and the 2021 tournament was reduced to 48 teams when nine all-sports conferences chose not to compete in men's basketball in 2020–21.
The bids are allocated evenly among the eight NCAA-designated regions, all but one of which contain three of the 23 Division II conferences that sponsor men's basketball. The South Central region contains only two conferences. Each regional tournament involves an appropriate number of automatic qualifiers, with the remaining participants entering via at-large bids.

Conference tournaments

Schools in italics are, as of the 2025–26 Division II basketball season, no longer members of that specific conference.
RegionConferenceTournamentDebutMost ChampionshipsCurrent Champion
AtlanticCIAATournament1946Virginia Union
AtlanticMountain EastTournament2014West Liberty Fairmont State
AtlanticPSACTournament1981Cheyney Gannon
CentralGreat AmericanTournament2012Arkansas Tech Harding
CentralMIAATournament1981NW Missouri State
CentralNSICTournament2010Northern State (SD) Minnesota State–Moorhead
EastCACCTournament2002Bloomfield
Jefferson
Bridgeport
EastEast CoastTournament1990St. Thomas Aquinas Daemen
EastNortheast-10Tournament1981Saint Anselm Southern New Hampshire
MidwestGLIACTournament1991Findlay Northern Michigan
MidwestGLVCTournament1981Bellarmine
Kentucky Wesleyan
Lincoln (MO)
MidwestG-MACTournament2013Walsh Malone
SouthGulf SouthTournament1981Alabama–Huntsville
Delta State
North Alabama
Alabama–Huntsville
SouthSIACTournament1934Florida A&M Savannah State
SouthSunshine StateTournament1978Florida Southern Nova Southeastern
South CentralLone StarTournament1975West Texas A&M Dallas Baptist
South CentralRMACTournament1993MSU Denver Colorado Mines
SoutheastCarolinasTournament1936High Point UNC Pembroke
SoutheastPeach BeltTournament1992Augusta USC Aiken
SoutheastSACTournament1992Catawba Lenoir–Rhyne
WestCCAATournament1986Cal State Bakersfield
UC San Diego
Cal State Dominguez Hills
WestGNACTournament2011Seattle Pacific Seattle Pacific
WestPacific WestTournament2013Point Loma Point Loma

Results

  • '''Source:'''

Records and statistics

Championships by school

Active programs
SchoolTitlesYears
'81966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999, 2001
'42017, 2019, 2021, 2022
'31980, 1992, 2005
'22023, 2025
'21981, 2015
'21984, 2014
'22006, 2008
' 22000, 2002
'12024
'12018
'12016
'12013
'12012
'12010
'12009
'12007
'12003
'11996
'11982
' 11970
11967

Former programs
SchoolTitlesYears
'51959, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1971
'31993, 1994, 1997
'21979, 1991
'12011
'12004
'11998
'11995
'11989
' 11988
'11986
'11985
'11983
'11978
' 11977
'11976
'11975
'11974
'11972
'11963
'11962
'11961
'11958
11957

Former Division II champions now in other classes

Division I

Source:
SchoolChampionshipYear movedCurrent conference
South Dakota19582006The Summit League
Evansville1959 • 1960 • 1964 • 1965 • 19711977Missouri Valley Conference
Mount St. Mary's19621989Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
South Dakota State19632005The Summit League
Morgan State19741985Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Old Dominion19751976Sun Belt Conference
Chattanooga19771977Southern Conference
North Alabama1979 • 19912018Atlantic Sun Conference
Wright State19831988Horizon League
Jacksonville State19851996Conference USA
Sacred Heart19861999Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
UMass Lowell19882013America East Conference
North Carolina Central19892008Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Bakersfield1993 • 1994 • 19972007Big West Conference
Southern Indiana19952022Ohio Valley Conference
UC Davis19982004Big West Conference
Kennesaw State20042006Conference USA
Bellarmine20112020Atlantic Sun Conference

Division III

Source:
SchoolChampionshipYear movedCurrent Conference
Wheaton (IL)19571974College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
Wittenberg19611974North Coast Athletic Conference
Roanoke19721976Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Puget Sound19761996Northwest Conference

Broadcasting

CBS Sports holds rights to the semi-final and final rounds of the Division II tournament, with the semi-final games broadcast on CBS Sports Network and the final on CBS. In 2015, CBS Sports reached a long-term deal to continue broadcasting the Division II men's semi-final on CBS Sports Network through 2024.